Maybe America Should Have a King

Every four or eight years we Americans catapult a rising star to
international prominence—and then stick them in the unenviable position of
president. Once election afterglow fades, the politician must navigate
the awkward tightrope between being an approachable "beer sharing"
everyman and a formal figurehead of a world superpower. Honestly, this
might be too much for one person to handle. So, courtesy of Matthew Yglesias, here's a proposal: Why not crown a King of America?

Some cynics may scoff that the age of American royalty has already arrived,
but hear the ThinkProgress blogger out. In a constitutional monarchy
like Britain, for example, the "mystique of power" is placed on the
powerless monarch, while the prime minister—who actually wields
political power—is "just another politician." This enables a country to
still hold respectful awe of a government figurehead (and devour tabloid
gossip about the royal family), while also allowing the public to jeer,
mock and otherwise question the person holding the reins of the
nation's political process.

Having a figurehead and a prime minister neatly also neatly solves the perpetual "presidential dignity" question (read: hand-wringing
about an appearance on The View), while still preserving nearly the
same legislative power structure. Queen Palin or King Bloomberg, anyone?

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.